THE LAST OF US: First Kill
by Z-Nitro
Summary: Who was the 'first kill? Why did this happen? Why was his daughter a witness of the event? Joel tells Ellie a story on how he became the man that he was now ... and the consequences of his actions that occurred during the fateful day.
1. Prologue: The Nightmare

The air was cold, temperatures close to the point of freezing. Decaying buildings and roads were covered completely with frost; there was no life within them whatsoever. In fact, the whole area was completely dead. Everything was silent, completely abandoned. This was the fate of traumatic event that had happened throughout the world, caused by the Cordyceps Brain infection that killed off most of the human and animal population.

However, footsteps began to echo, gradually becoming louder with each step. Eventually, two figures appeared on the road within the distance. They were Survivors, humans who have battled through the Post-apocalyptic world that has become that state of living. The leading figure was fairly tall and buffed, showing that he had experience in taking care of himself and surviving through crucial conditions. He had dark, rugged hair on both his head and face; however, several patches began to turn white as it showed he was within his late 40's. He wore fairly tattered, yet warm clothing that prevented him from freezing to death in the current winter territories. He had journeyed long distances and survived through deadly oppositions in order to reach his goal. His name: Joel.

Behind him was a smaller, younger figure who had accompanied him throughout the entirety of his journey, experiencing the harsh reality throughout the journey even though she has lived through it all her life. She had auburn hair and fair skin, showing her youth. Having been born 14 years ago within the Post-apocalyptic Earth, she has no experience of the world before the Outbreak. She had lost her family through this world, and has only Joel left to keep her from being completely alone. She protects him, just as he protects her. Her name: Ellie.

The two were completely silent, Joel struggling to bring up a conversation with Ellie, whilst Ellie could not speak at all. It wasn't always like this with them however, as they were always communicating with each other throughout their journey. But the recent event they had been though within the past 2 weeks of winter has caused a fatal traumatic effect on Ellie. Her fight against a Cannibal Leader known as David had emotionally scarred her to the point that she had trouble speaking and keeping a calm mind. Joel had been hearing her during sleepless nights screaming and weeping in agony and terror. He had tried his absolute hardest to bring her back to her old, strong-willed self; but nothing had been successful so far.

They continued their trek on the road through the dead, cold wasteland; knowing that they were drawing closer to Salt Lake City, their goal of the journey. Joel noticed that Ellie was shaking, not of the cold but long-term fear. He then drew in a deep breath, wondering what he could do to lighten up her spirits.

Just then, Ellie stopped in her tracks, breathing heavily and eyes completely lowered towards the floor. Joel halted his movements and turned towards her, wondering why she stopped.

"Joel, could we … stop for the night?" Ellie silently spoke, her voice cracking as her words struggled to escape her mouth.

"Yeah, I don't see why not." Joel nodded, giving out a small, sweet smile. "Let's walk up a little further, see if we can find a place worth staying tonight."

The two continued on with their trek, passing the various abandoned housing and not looking back. Joel began to realise that the Sun was setting in fairly soon and so began to glance around, wondering where to take shelter. Thankfully, no infected beings were within the area, meaning the place was mostly free from any sort of danger. However, Joel was still careful just in case this was a lie or enemy survivors were lurking. As light began to dusk, Joel noticed a small, cosy villa to the left side of the road. Like the rest of the buildings in the wasteland-like area, it was completely abandoned. Joel then took a small glace behind to check up on Ellie, making sure she was following him safely. Although hiding her emotions away, Ellie continued to follow him. She was still silent, struggling to show any positive emotion. As Joel turned back, his eyes locked onto the front door of the villa.

As he reached the building he grasped onto the door knob, however he did not open it just then. He carefully listened in through the crack of the door, hoping that there wasn't any movement on the other side. He could hear small scratches in the distance, but no sound confirming that there were signs of Infected or opposing Survivors. Just in case, he took out a small handgun, grasping onto the grip of the gun firmly. Ellie snapped out of his trance and took out her own from her pocket, eyes locked on Joel with caution as to what he was about to do.

Finally, Joel turned the doorknob and stepped inside the villa, being cautious on where and how he placed his footing. Ellie kept close behind him, concentrating on the area that was currently surrounding her. Upon entering the villa, both Joel and Ellie examined the surrounding area. Walls were significantly rotten and worn through, allowing for holes and large mould to appear through cracks. The ceiling was fairly damaged itself with large floorboards crumbling and splitting apart. The carpet on the floor was completely torn and eerily damp. The furniture was almost in pieces, torn up and worn to the frame. Objects such as tables, chairs, and other furniture wear damaged to the point of unusable. This was the typical state of society since the outbreak. Joel crept tough the first room, always checking every direction possible. Ellie kept close to Joel's back to constantly cover the rear just in case an infected would attack them unexpectedly. Suddenly, Joel halted his movement, causing Ellie to knock herself against him slightly. It was at that point, clicking and wheezing began to echo across the open villa rooms. A Clicker was camped within the villa.

Joel swiftly yet silently stepped over to a toppled over table that had been close enough to him. Ellie followed and hid on the other end of the table, both checking round above for signs of the vermin. To their acknowledgement, they caught sight of the Clicker in the farthest room, slowly stepping through the rooms' openings. Joel ushered Ellie to stay put with a small hand gesture, refusing to speak. Ellie nodded without any hesitation and stuck to her place. Joel used the opportunity to edge closer to the Clicker, slowly and silently grasping hold of a shiv from his belt, a temporary weapon that he had created earlier during the day. As he crept closer, still completely crouched down and eyes locked onto the creature, he began to slow down his own breathing to the point of it almost not being there at all. With both gun and shiv in hand, he was prepared for the execution. Taking a step closer, he was now only a few feet from the Clicker, who began to twitch. In an instant, Joel leapt into action. He struck the shiv into the Clicker's eye-socket, or where it should have been, and threw the creature to the group. The Clicker screeched as it fell, throwing its arms and legs about wildly as it tried to fight back. Joel then felt the movement gradually lessen to the point of dead silence, knowing that the Clicker was no more. He both heard and felt a crack within the shiv had made, rendering it useless. He threw the scrap of the shiv away and gradually rose back to his feet. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting from his abdomen. He knew his wound was still in the healing process, causing him to press his palm against it to sooth. He turned towards Ellie's, nodding to signal that the Clicker was subdued.

"Its all fine now, Ellie." Joel called out, taking in deep breaths as he soothed his abdomen.

However, this didn't mean that the whole villa was free from infected. All of a sudden, Joel was thrown to the floor with a screeching noise close to his ear. Another Clicker had leapt from the shadows and thrown him completely by surprise. Joel had struck his freehand into the neck of the Clicker, struggling to keep the creature away from biting him. He began to grit his teeth as the Clicker edged closer to him, realising that he had dropped his gun. Abruptly, Ellie hastily lunged onto the back of Clicker, instantly stabbing it with her small army knife she had been carrying. The Clicker screeched as it rolled off of Joel, fighting with Ellie. Joel took this moment to grab his gun and shoot the Clicker with a sudden bullet to the head, putting it out of its misery. Lying on the floor, there was a moment of complete silence as both Joel and Ellie took their time to recover from the sudden assault. As they did this, they kept their hearing open towards the whole surroundings. There was no sound of any other movements within the villa, only rustling of the wind from outside. Joel carefully lifted to his feet, keeping silent as he stood. He then stepped over to help Ellie to her feet, keeping eyes and ears on the lookout.

During the next hour, the both of them had split up to search the rest of the villa. They had inspected every room, nook and cranny for signs of infected. However, to their relief, the villa was free from hostile movement. They then gathered around a small fireplace, using spare wood they had found in the garden of the villa. Joel set the fire going as Ellie took out rations from their bags. It did not take long for night to emerge due to the winter season. In fact, just as it struck dust, Joel and Ellie had already begun to eat and set out cloth to use for the night. Joel had dragged up to worn but stable sofa chairs from the other rooms and set them close to the fire for him and Ellie. They continued to nibble on their rations in silence, taking in the peaceful yet somewhat sorrowful atmosphere of the small fire. Joel glanced over towards Ellie, wondering as to how she currently felt. Trying his best to cheer her up, he hastily tried to think up a way to start a conversation. It was a long shot, but he gave it a go.

"Y'know, I should really get myself a switchblade like yours." Joel began, giving a calm smile as he spoke. "Using shivs are good for the short runs, but they don't last long enough for me whatsoever."

Ellie silently nodded, taking out her switchblade from her pocket underneath the blanket and began to examine it. Joel watched her in silence, giving out a sigh and leaning back on his sofa chair.

"… Especially when you need to use them for opening busted doors, heh heh…" Ellie silently chuckled, giving off a small smile as she continued to examine the blade. "You're always close to raging when you can't open one of them."

Joel's eyes shifted towards Ellie's direction with a subtle surprised look, but then smiled in return, continuing the conversation.

"Tch, yeah … tell me about it." Joel spoke as he leaned his head back against the head rest of the sofa chair. "And I bet there were a decent amount of supplies behind some of those damned doors."

After a small chuckle between the two, they returned to their silence. Ellie placed back her switchblade and sat silently in her sofa chair. The fire continued to flicker peacefully in the fireplace, giving a warm glow around the whole of the room. Joel gazed towards the ceiling, closely drifting to sleep as his mind began to clear. However, on the corner of his eye, Joel caught sight of Ellie taking out another object. From his view, it seemed to be a photo of some sort; however this was too far away from him to examine it in detail.

"What've you got there, Ellie?" Joel questioned casually, squinting his eyes slightly.

"Hm? … Oh! Nothing!" Ellie hastily responded, slipping the photo under the sheets.

Joel's eyebrow rose curiously, wondering as to why she acted like that so suddenly. However, feeling it was none of his business; he shrugged and returned to drifting off to sleep.

The hours slipped by as both Ellie and Joel were completely adrift in sleep, feeling as though nothing would interrupt them. The flame in the fireplace had been put out during the night by Joel, who had woken up briefly to realise it was still flickering. As the time struck 4:15am, no sound could be heard between the two of them; only small, frosty breaths appearing from their mouths. However, this did not seem to last. Ellie began to rustle around uncomfortably underneath her blanket. Gripping the armrest of the seat, she began to sweat out and hasten her breathing.

"N-no…" she murmured out, gritting her teeth anxiously as she slept. "G-get … the fuck back … from me."

Just then, she began to kick out, causing the sheet to fall to the floor. As she continued on, her body moved up on the sofa chair like she was struggling in a corner. The movement was subtle, but one could tell something was not right. And then … she screamed out. She shrieked and screamed as she moved about hastily in the chair. Joel, woken up instantly by the scream, leapt up and aimed his gun. His eyes darted around; trying to spot what caused her to shriek. However, within seconds, he noticed that there wasn't anything physically harming her … It was just another one of her horrified nightmares. Swiftly, he slipped his gun back into his pocket and leapt round to wake her from the nightmare. He knelt and placed his hands on her shoulders, gently keeping her in place.

"Ellie … Ellie! Wake up!" Joel shook her lightly, giving a concerned expression.

"N-NO! GET AWAY!" Ellie shrieked with her eyes still closed and in the dream, kicking out and pushing herself away.

"Damn it, Girl! You're having another nightmare!" Joel then bellowed out, giving a tough voice.

Abruptly, Ellie opened her eyes, bewildered by the situation. She jumped up as she saw Joel, wild-like eyes and completely out of breath. Joel sighed and stood back up, closing his eyes and tilting his head towards the ceiling as he began to think. Ellie hesitated for a moment as she adjusts to her surroundings once again, showing signs of relief as her body slid back into the seat. She wiped away the many tears that slid down her cheeks from the eyes and the sweat from her forehead and neck.

"Great … now we're both going to struggle to get any more sleep tonight." Joel breathed out, pacing around the dormant fireplace.

"I-I'm sorry …" Ellie muttered, trying to hold back her emotions. "It was just …"

"Don't worry; I know what you're going through." Joel shook his head, eyes locked onto her with sorrowful expressions. "And by the looks of things, it's going to happen for a while longer."

There was a moment of silence between them, Joel placed a hand over his mouth and took time to think. He then stepped over towards the fireplace and began to light it up again, taking out a flint from his bag. Ellie rose up from her seat and stepped forward to overlook Joel, watching him silently set the fire going. With one spark, the fire began to burn strong. Joel stood up and turned, catching sight of Ellie standing behind him instantly. He could see in her eyes that she was terrified of going through such a scenario once again.

"Sit back down, I'll hand you a snack to nibble on and cool you off." Joel assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he began to rummage through his bag.

Silently, Ellie placed herself back on the seat, leaning back as she took in a few deep breaths.

"Here, catch." Joel called out, throwing a piece of shortbread towards her direction.

In a snap, she caught it perfectly as if it was nothing. She then snapped a piece and began to chew down, taking her time. Joel sat back on his own seat, rubbing his tired bloodshot eyes. He began to think calmly about what to do next, guessing that Ellie wouldn't speak another word for a while. However, this had not been the case, as he had been caught off by what she was about to ask him.

"Hey, Joel?" Ellie began to ask out, still nibbling slowly on her shortbread.

"Hm..?" Joel murmured back, his mind curious.

"Could you … tell me a story?" She requested to him, her eyes gazing completely blank. "Y'know … a story from your life before the outbreak began."

Joel thought about it silently, finding it surprising that she wanted to know about the past at this moment in time.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Joel accepted, giving a small, calm smile. "What do you want to hear about? Let me guess; something gritty?"

"Yeah, that would be cool. Or even better, how you became a badass." Ellie nodded back towards him, her expressions becoming livelier. "To be honest though … I would like to hear more about Sarah."

Joel's body slightly jolted with hesitation on his seat the moment he heard that name. To bring up something so personal to him, especially about his daughter, caused him to feel anxious. He didn't know how to approach this, should he accept this or go onto something else?

"Ah! I-I'm sorry, Joel. I didn't mean to tread on thin ice." Ellie hastily stated, realising she was in a cautious subject. "I know it's a personal subject for you, I just wanted to know about her."

Joel gave out a large sigh, clearing his mind.

"No, you're fine; I think it's time for me to open up." Joel finally admitted; his eyes closed as he put his mind straight. "However, this story is something I wouldn't normally chat about to people. In fact, it was something I wish I had forgotten."

Ellie looked at him oddly, wondering as to what this story would be about.

"What do you mean, Joel?" she asked cautiously, giving a concerned expression.

After I final deep breath, he answered with a strong yet cautious tone. "This is the story of my 'first' kill, a whole 2 years before the outbreak began. Sarah was only 10 at the time … and she had witnessed the whole event."


	2. Hands Forever Stained

"It was the middle of March 2011, Sarah was at school at the time and I had the day off work … for once." Joel began to narrate his story, his mind reflecting back to the years before the Cordyceps outbreak had happened. "She had a soccer game straight after and I promised to her that I would go see her in action."

"I heard from Tommy that she was a talented player." Ellie spoke out; still struggling with forming sentences confidently but showed progress.

Joel then pouted, "… And what else did my brother tell you about Sarah?" He questioned stubbornly, subtly frustrated by the interruption.

"N-nothing else, I swear!" Ellie instantly answered with a light tone, showing her innocence.

Joel then rubbed his eyes, giving out a light sigh and a small chuckle as he brushed the stubborn feeling aside.

"Yeah, she was a natural." Joel admitted both subtle and proud, giving a small smile underneath his greying facial hair. "Anyway…"

**22 years ago …**

The younger Joel, in his later 20's at the time, was completely passed out sitting on his chair whilst lying over his desk. He was situated in the ground floor office room of his home in the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Completely exhausted from the past few weeks of extensive construction work, Joel had been effectively making use of his day off catching up the hours of sleep he had missed out on. With his soot black hair, neat facial hair and smoother skin; he was in the prime time of his life. He had been wearing a simple brown T-shirt and jean trousers/pants at the time, all clean and fresh from a wash.

Scattered around his table were small, metal trinkets and a simple desktop. In addition to this, he had been holding a screwdriver in his right hand with a wristwatch situated close next to it. From what was seen, Joel had begun the day attempting to fix his broken watch. In fact, he had only bought the watch a few months back, only for it to stop working not long after. Unfortunately, he hadn't made any progress as shown from the various trinkets scattered across the desk.

The room was fairly spacious and open; with leather sofas on the opposite end of the room from the desk and sliding glass doors leading into the back garden. The room also had wooden bookshelves containing a variety of different subjects, ranging from construction texts to Sarah's school topics.

Suddenly, a vibration rang from Joel's cell-phone, situated within his rear jean pocket. Joel leapt up from his position abruptly, his eyes still closed but a sudden awareness of the surroundings. Hastily, he took the cell-phone out of his pocket, his eyes squinting and wearily rubbing them as he read the name of the person contacting him. It was his daughter: Sarah. Swiftly, he pressed the icon on the touchscreen and placed the cell against his ear.

"Hey honey … what's up?" Joel sleepily answered, yawning silently and wiping his eyes.

"Hey, Dad." Sarah's soft yet tomboyish voice answered back. "There's been a change of plan with the game ... kick-off is starting earlier than we planned."

"Oh, really? What's the new kick-off time?" Joel wondered curiously, beginning to fiddle with the trinkets on his desk to pass the time.

"… In 20 minutes." Sarah's voice cautiously admitted through the cell's speaker, speaking with an awkward tone in her voice.

Joel abruptly gave out a small gasp as he smacked his knee against the table due to the sudden shock. He had completely lost track of time! He leapt up from his seat and hastily began to make his way out of his office to the living room, still holding the phone against his ear.

"Are you okay there, Dad? I heard a bang." Sarah asked out curiously, wondering what was happening on the other side of the connection.

"N-nothing, I'm fine." Joel instantly replied, rummaging around the room of the house for shoes to wear.

Through his haste, he caught sight of the pair of shoes he normally wears hiding under the table set within the room. With this room in a similar fashion to his office, it was rather simple to know where things were for him. He slipped them on with the laces already tied and headed towards the door that lead towards the porch of the house.

"Wait … are you STILL at home!?"Sarah then realised, noticing the hastening breaths her father was giving out. "You told me you would be near the school by now!"

"Don't worry about it; I'm just heading over now." Joel swiftly excused, snatching a Black cotton Jacket that had been hanging on the door hook.

Joel had instantly remembered back to the start of the day when he had told Sarah he would be at a shopping plaza close to her school in the centre of Austin. In his mind, he began to beat himself up for not pursuing his plan.

"… You better be there on time." Sarah voice then echoed through the speaker, showing the disappointment through her tone.

Joel froze and the door and winced, his eyes closed and taking in a deep breath as he heard and felt the disappointment in Sarah's voice. But then … he decided to get cocky.

"Tell you what, how about a bet; thirty seconds before the game starts, you must look over towards the crowd seats." Joel began his proposition, trying to become clever about his own situation. "If I'm not there on time, then after the game I will take you to see that 'Dawn of the Wolf' film you been pestering to me about. If I'm there on time, we'll go to my 'favourite' café. Deal?"

"(Sigh) ... Fine." Sarah hesitantly accepted, considering everything he had said.

"Great, see you there." Joel hastily ended the call, opening up the front door of the house.

He had heard Sarah's 'bye' just before he pressed the end call icon. He strode out the house a formal yet rushed manner, locking the door behind him as he left. He instantly caught sight of his outback truck; it was simple yet efficient to move about around the Texas dry environments. It was similar to his own brother, Tommy's own vehicle but not as clean and was mainly used to move about construction tools and equipment.

Just as he was about to step into the vehicle, he heard a friendly and outspoken voice call to him from the near distance.

"Yo, Joel! Are you headin' off somewhere?" The voice questioned curiously, giving out a cheerful tone. "You seem in a rush!"

Joel turned his head towards the source of the voice, catching sight of a familiar face. It was from his fairly enthusiastic neighbour, Jimmy Cooper, fixing up the fence near the side of his family's house. In terms of his appearance, he was average build with fair skin, and a smile that was approachable but slightly scary for some reason.

"Yeah, my daughter's soccer game is about to start and I'm running rather late!" Joel answered back with a clear call, a foot firm on the floor of the truck as he ducked inside.

Jimmy gave a small nod and continued with the work on his fence, knocking in a nail firmly against the wood. Joel twisted the key and started up the engine, hearing it give an echoing and obnoxious roar. He placed the gear stick in reverse and moved the truck onto the road. He then swiftly began to move the stick through the gears and shot of in an instant, leaving a small dust cloud behind.

It was typical Texan weather, strong rays of sun light were beating down on the earth with no clouds were in sight. The ground was dry and brittle, breaking up as the truck's large tyres ran through. Joel had a pair of sunglasses on whilst his jacket was placed on the passenger seat in a crumpled mess. With a window open almost fully, Joel felt the wind push against his skin, feeling completely refreshed.

As he continued to speed across the county landscape, Joel constantly switched his eyesight back and forth from the digital clock on his radio to the road in front of him. The clock ticked on fast, causing Joel to bite his lip subtly. He began to question if he had would be able to get there on time at his pace more than the bet he had with his daughter. Right now, he just wanted to get there by the time the game starts, the consequences would be taken in as important at a later time.

Thankfully the outskirts of Austin were free of any traffic, however the moment he entered the city itself in the direction of the centre, he began to panic in his mind. The roads were completely packed, vehicles moving in and out of lands with people who had a progressive road rage blasting their horns against each other as though it was an all-out war. If these roads were empty, Joel would have been at the school with time to spare. However, as it was severely packed up, he was in trouble.

Joel scratched the back of his head frantically as he gritted his teeth, his eyes burning due to the frustration. He knew various shortcuts in and around the city that could allow him to skip the traffic; unfortunately he was nowhere near any of the ones pictured in his mind. All he could do was to wait and allow his patience to wear thin.

Finally, after what had felt like an eternity, a perfect shortcut was in his sight. He used this opportunity to swerve and exit his lane, entering a small road leading directly towards the school. At this point, Joel had refused to look at the time on his radio. All he was hoping for was that he hadn't been too late.

As he finally entered the school ground, he hastily parked the truck and rushed towards the field next to the school's proud building. Within this field was a small stadium consisting of a few rows of seats and the soccer arena itself. The stadium had small banners reading 'DEFENDERS!' in blocked letters to show that they were proud of the team.

Joel caught sight of a volunteering official who had a pad with names of the spectators for the match. She was young but seemed to know what she was doing. It seemed any of the other spectators or officials were already inside. Joel strode hastily up to her, grabbing a small ticket from his pocket and wiping away the sweat from his brow.

"Hey, I'm here to watch the game." Joel breathlessly spoke to the girl, taking a moment to catch his own breath as he handed over the ticket to the official.

The girl swiped her pad as she searched for the name from the ticket she had been given. Joel fidgeted on the spot, unable to keep calm whatsoever.

"Ah, Joel Miller." The girl then finally answered, spotting the name on the list. "The game is about to begin any second now so you need to be quick. Do you know where your seat is?"

"Oh, thank God." Joel breathed out in huge relief after hearing the words he needed to hear. Then he answered the question confidently. "Yes, I do."

"Well then, enjoy the game." The girl nodded cheerfully, giving out a small smile.

Joel nodded and passed her, heading up the metal steps towards the seating area. He could hear the crowd beginning to clap as the game was counting down the timers to begin kick-off. As he quickened the pace, he finally caught sight of the playing field. It was large, close to the size of a national-built soccer field. The two opposing girl teams stood in the allocated positions, stretched out and ready for action.

As Joel hopped up to the platform, he took a moment to catch his breath back. His eyes hastily searched the playing field for his daughter, knowing that she was positioned on the mid-field. Finally, he caught sight of her, who seemed to also be searching for him. He straightened up and threw a hand in the air above, giving a big wave to see if he could get her attention.

Sarah continued to search the crowd for her father, body and mind tensed up as she waited for the whistle from the referee for kick-off. She had short, dark blonde hair, light blue eyes and pale skin. She had a fairly tomboyish personality; upon her upbringing she was very forward with her motives and confident with her approach to various scenarios. She seemed to hang out with the boys at school regularly but also kept with her female friends as well, some of whom was also in her soccer team.

Within a small moment, she noticed the platform from where the steps had led up to, instantly noticing her father standing and waving towards her. With a big cheesy grin, she threw her hands up and waved back. She was overjoyed that he had made it just in time for the kick-off … and that was when the whistle blew.

Joel's mind clicked the moment he heard the whistle, he instantly began to indicate towards Sarah to hurry and get her mind in the game. This was received effectively as Sarah nodded with a determined face, turning with eyes locked on the ball. With a strong push from her legs, she ran towards a position so that she was open for the ball.

As this was happening, Joel examined the area around him for his allocated seat. This did not take too long as he caught sight of the empty seat near to the middle of the row, between a young couple and an old woman in her late 60s/early 70s.

The First half of the game played to the Defender's favour, with the striker of the team scoring the opening goal within the first 12 minutes of the game. Sarah had assisted with this as she was the one who allowed for the striker to gain an opening. This continued with the goalie of the team to prevent the opposing team from scoring. However, closing towards the end of the first half, the defence had slipped up and was unable to prevent the opposing team from scoring their first goal; ending the first half of the game as 1-1.

As the teams had entered half-time, both teams gathered to form strategies in order to prevent the slip ups from happening and finding effective ways of breaking through. On the Defenders side, they had decided to go for the defensive approach in the beginning of the second half, allowing the team to save their energy for the latter of the second half.

As the teams got into positions, the whistle for the second half blew loudly. Both teams set out to execute their strategies. This had been efficient for the defenders as they were able to cause the opposing team to miss several of their goal attempts. However, the opposing team had executed their own strategy blocking players who were close enough to the ball. Because of this, they were able to score the second goal for their team.

As the clock continued to tick on, the Defenders switched instantly to their attack formation. Although it had been a struggle to break through the defence, the midfielder of the Defenders who had been positioned on the opposite side to Sarah had been able to score a goal and even out the scores once again.

Nearing to the end of the match, both teams were beginning to show fatigue. Struggling to find effective openings, both teams could not score by the time the initial end had arrived. However, the referee had allowed for additional time, approximately 3 minutes. This had meant that both the teams were to give their all within the time given. Sarah decided to assist the striker of the team as they entered full attack-mode. It was close to impossible to break through the wall of defending players from the opposing team. However, Sarah had pushed forwards closer to the goal as the striker swerved through tackling players. And then … there was a small opening.

"Kerry, pass!" Sarah called out by the top of her lungs to the striker of her team, knowing this was the only chance they have.

The striker swiftly kicked up and over the wall of players from the opposing team. Sarah sprinted to where the ball would land and threw her leg round, giving it the force and direction it needed. The ball shot towards the opposing goal and the goalie leapt towards it. At first, it had seemed that the ball would be caught, to Sarah's anxiousness. However, the goalie had jumped too early and the ball skimmed her fingers, striking the goal net.

Joel, who had his eyes locked on Sarah for almost the whole of the game, threw his hands up and roared out with joy. The whistle had blown and Sarah's team 'The Defenders' had won the game 3-2 with her finishing strike. The team gathered and threw Sarah up in the air with delight, all complimenting her ecstatically for the finishing goal.

As everything had finished and packed up, Joel and Sarah sat in Joel's 'favourite' café enjoying a coffee and lemonade respectfully to celebrate the successful win. On the small table was a plaque to show that Sarah had been the best player in the game. Although there was also a trophy to commemorate the best individual player, Sarah needed to play a few more games to achieve it.

"So, 'Best Player', huh?" Joel began the conversation cheerfully, sipping on his coffee mug. "You certainly put a lot of effort into that game."

"Yeah, although I almost slipped up a few times during the second half." Sarah admitted as she began to nit-pick, smiling more about the fact her dad had seen the game than achieving the 'Best Player' plaque.

"Well, that doesn't matter too much. All we should care about is that you won and I got to see it." Joel shrugged, thinking nothing more of any 'slip ups' and mistakes.

As they continued to sip on their drinks, Sarah's eyes had begun to move from looking at her father to somewhere behind him. She began to feel uneasy, getting an odd sensation as though something was off.

Time passed and both were close to finish up their drinks. Joel had been lying back on his seat slightly whilst Sarah began to feel constantly anxious. Finally, she decided to consult her growing worries with her father.

"Dad, there's a guy sitting a few tables behind you who's been staring at me for a while now." Sarah whispered to him, beginning to fidget on her seat. "It's starting to freak me out a bit."

"… I know, I see him." Joel silently nodded back.

He had caught sight of a man sitting a few tables from behind him, using a mirror hanging from the wall of the café. The man was young, seemingly in his early 20s, and had light brown hair, smooth fair skin and hazel eyes. He seemed to have a laid back posture and a cool smile. However, concentrating on the eyes, they were completely locked on Sarah and had been giving off a suspicious aura. What had made things more uneasy was that the man was staring at her ever since they had entered the café.

Joel considered that this could be nothing and was just paranoia getting to the both of them but he knew that they needed to leave as soon as possible.

"Sarah, drink up, we're heading back to the truck." Joel quietly indicated to her, swiftly drinking up his own.

Sarah gulped down her lemonade, taking no time in finishing it whatsoever. They then stood up, collected the plaque from the table and headed to the door of the café, having already paid for the drinks. As Joel passed the man's table, he kept his eyes locked carefully on the guy. The man had suddenly switched his sights towards the window, acting as though he hadn't been looking suspicious. The two exited the building and heading down the street towards the direction of where Joel had parked his truck.

"Dad, didn't you say you wanted to shop around here?" Sarah questioned and they walked on, remembering that her father had wanted to buy something in the plaza.

"I'll come back tomorrow; there isn't the need to rush at the moment." Joel shook his head, feeling that now was not the time to shop.

He then glanced behind back towards the café. At first no one had exited the building, to both his relief and assumption that it had just been paranoia. However, he then caught sight of the guy leaving the café and heading towards their direction. This had completely sparked his worry.

Looking at the man in full wear; he had a light yellow T-shirt and jeans, he was fairly slim and had a somewhat lack of muscle on him. He was, however, holding a medium sized rucksack that was full of items.

Joel and Sarah's pace quickened to a powerful stride, swerving in and out of oncoming crowds. Joel consistently checked behind on their pursuer whilst Sarah began to hake violently.

"Dad, t-this is scaring me …" Sarah quietly spoke out, struggling to contain her panic.

"I know, Honey, just don't look back." Joel reassured her, his eyes shifting to find a way to lose the guy stalking them.

Behind them, the man continued to pursue, keeping a constant stride and eyes locked on.

This was when something clicked in Joel's mind; they needed to pass a small alleyway in order to reach the truck. Joel gritted his teeth; he could not believe something like this was happening.

Finally, the two slipped into the alley, knowing there was no other way around … but this was a fatal mistake for Joel. He caught sight on a CCTV camera attach to the corner of one of the buildings they had passed, thankful that there were eyes on the alley. Unfortunately, these were the last things Joel saw before … WHAM!

"ARGH!" Joel suddenly bellowed out in agony, dropping to the floor.

"DAD- Mmph!?" Sarah screamed to him, being clasped abruptly around her mouth and forcefully dragged away.

Joel had been struck on the back of the head by some sort of blunt object, causing him to become dazed and clump to the floor. He desperately tried to regain his senses as he heard his daughter struggling and trying to scream out.

"S-SARAH!" Joel roared back, struggling to his feet and trying to regain his sight.

Thankfully, his eyes adjusted clearly, allowing him to regain all of his senses again. He instantly switched his sights towards the direction that Sarah's voice had come from. His eyes then locked onto the man who was the culprit of attacking him and dragging away his daughter. Whilst dragging Sarah away, he had been holding a metal bat in his free hand and his rucksack was zipped open.

"No you don't, you bastard." Joel gritted his teeth tensely, completely enraged.

He leapt into action and began to sprint towards the man, his fists becoming rock solid and veins popping out from his skin. The man turned his head around as he began to hear what was coming, but was too late to act. Sarah had been able to slip from the grasp and decided to bite down on the man's hand ferociously. The man flinched and bellowed out in pain, letting go of Sarah and dropping the metal bat.

Suddenly, the man felt Joel abruptly tackle him to the floor, showing no mercy whatsoever. Joel grasped the man around the neck tight with one hand, causing him to choke, and began to strike with the other, constantly pounding the guy in the face. Sarah hid behind a secure area away from the fight, eyes streaming with tears and completely shaken up with shock.

Just then, the man kicked up and pushed Joel away, recovering from the ground. Joel swiftly recovered and leapt in for another bout.

He kicked the man in the shin just as he was about to uppercut, causing him to loose stability. Joel used opportunity to strike the man once again. Abruptly though, he had frozen up. The man had slipped out a revolver, aiming it towards him.

"I don't think so, shithead." The man spat in warning, his mouth full of blood and a black-eye forming.

Joel took a step back, rethinking his situation.

"That girl …" the man then pointed out, completely breathless. "… Is coming with me."

"What do you want with my daughter?" Joel calmly questioned, his eyes lit with fury but his mind was still in control.

"Oh, things … too graphic for you to know." The man then chuckled with a wheeze, smiling with blood seeping from his mouth. "What is my reason, you ask? Well … just to satisfy a craving."

Joel's spine shivered as he listened; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just then, the man took a step forward, the gun close to Joel's head.

"I suggest you move." The man whispered, eyes locked onto the target in front of him.

Joel refused to allow this garbage of a man take his daughter but he couldn't think: Should he move … or should he stand his ground and take the risk? The man took another step closer, eyes becoming wild. That was when Joel decided his action … he carefully stepped aside.

"D-Dad?" Sarah gasped as she called out.

The man nodded as he chuckled, smiling to Joel with his insane eyes and grin.

"Smart move …" He muttered in a raspy tone, stepping past Joel.

Joel glared back, not speaking a word as the man continued to step towards Sarah, the revolver still in his grasp.

"DAD!" Sarah screamed, stepping backwards in horror.

The man gave out another raspy chuckle, feeling as though he was in complete control. But Joel did not move, he was waiting … for the right opportunity.

Suddenly, Joel launched himself onto the man and threw him to the ground, one hand grasping onto the man's gun hand. The man was in complete shock, unable to do anything. The moment he struck the floor, Joel took hold of his arm with both hands and placed his knee against it. In that moment, he slammed his knee and pulled back at the same time, causing an echoing crack. He had completely broken the man's arm, causing him to release the gun and roar out in complete agony.

Joel used this opportunity to take advantage of the situation; he took hold of the gun, kicked the man hard to turning on his back and pointed the gun at his head. The man was shaking and stuttering, holding onto his snapped arm.

"I-I-I-I'm s-sorry …" the man murmured out, completely shaken and scared.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Joel roared, his grip on the gun tightening as his eyes were full of fury.

"I'M SORRY!" The man cried out, becoming a complete wimp.

"Walk away … and never go near me or my daughter again." Joel then severely warned, holding back pulling the trigger. "Do you understand me, you disgusting freak?"

"O-ok, I will." The man nodded with his stutter.

Joel paused for a moment, contemplating whether to shoot the man anyway, but decided that he didn't wish to stain his hands with blood. He stepped away from the man and walked up to Sarah, the revolver by his side. Sarah was frozen on the spot, eyes full of tears and shaking violently.

"Come on, Baby Girl, let's go home." Joel comforted her sweetly, his personality changing back as he held her hand.

Sarah nodded silently, unable to speak due to the trauma. They then slowly walked on, heading towards the car park where the truck was situated. Joel refused to look behind, thinking that he should have shot the scumbag. Sarah, however, decided to just in case. But then, her eyes instantly widened.

"DADDY, LOOK OUT!" Sarah screamed out.

Joel let go of her and switched round in an instant, just able to catch sight of the man grasped around his neck, throttling him to the floor.

"HOW DARE YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!" The man screamed out, his eyes as insane as could be.

"G-GET OFF-!" Joel roared out, falling to the ground.

But then, something else appeared out of nowhere the moment Joel collided against the floor … a gunshot.

BANG!

Joel lay frozen on the floor, his eyes complete with shock and horror. Blood began to flow onto his brown t-shirt and black jacket. It first he thought that it was his own, feeling suddenly faint and weary. But then he had realised what had actually happened. The man who had thrown him to the floor had become limp, not moving whatsoever. He was lying on top of Joel; his body had lost complete tension.

Joel hastily threw the man off of him, shuffling away in an instant and in sudden fear. He then stared at the palms of his own hands, glaring in complete shock. With one hand gripped onto the revolver, both palms were soaked in blood. Joel's shaking body began to quicken violently, his own mind completely disappeared. He knew ... the man was dead.

Sarah stepped up, as shaken up as her father, and stared at him with instant shock.

"Dad, w-what have you ..?" Sarah murmured, holding her hands together, unable to finish her question.

"I-I don't know …" Joel muttered back, beginning to wipe and scratch his hands in hopes to get rid of the blood. "I d-don't know w-what I'm supposed to do …"

Abruptly, an echoing and screeching scream filled the atmosphere around them. It wasn't from Sarah … but from a grown woman. Both of them leapt up in fright, turning to see who had screamed. Instantly they spotted the woman.

She had long red hair placed in a ponytail, light green eyes and pale skin. She had placed a hand around her mouth and her eye widened in complete shock as she had noticed the scene of the crime. But this did not end there; behind her were a crowd of civilians who had wondered over to see what the commotion was about.

"Oh … Shit." Joel murmured under his breath.


	3. Salt in the Wound

The older Joel suddenly paused, biting the inside of his lip. He slowly stood up from his sofa chair and strolled to the nearest window, taking in deep breaths to cool himself down. Ellie watched him move over to the window to the left of her, noticing the clear, star-lit in the distance. After a moment of peaceful silence, Ellie decided it was time to break it.

"So … society was as corrupted back then, just as they are now?" She guessed curiously yet with a saddened, her mind summing up how life had been before the tragic outbreak. "Man, talk about a fucking buzzkill. I mean, everybody was going on about how life before the outbreak was 'amazing' and 'peaceful'."

Joel gave out a subtle chuckle in response to her statement, hiding away his small smile as he continued to gaze out the window.

"Life back then was certainly no 'utopia'; there were always demons living amongst society, waiting to strike at us from the most unexpected of places." Joel dismissed the allegations Ellie spoke of, turning back towards her with his serious tone. "No matter how much the government, the army, and the police were able to manage or control the community, there was always some bad in the world. We had our freedom … yet we were always restricted."

Ellie nodded, taking in everything Joel spoke of. But the idea of being 'controlled' did not sit well in her mind.

"Control … I hate that word." Ellie murmured in her mind, beginning to think back to the time during her days at the Boston Quarantine Zone.

"I'm not a huge fan of it either." Joel agreed with a subtle tone, wandering back to his chair.

There was a small amount of silence once again between the two, taking a moment for their minds to settle down. It was then that Ellie spoke up once again, deciding that she wished to hear more of Joel's story.

"So you and Sarah were caught seen by this 'red haired woman' … what happened next?" Ellie questioned, showing curiosity.

"Well, after that …"Joel began to hesitate, struggling to form his words properly.

He glanced towards the large window in the distance from both him and Ellie; it was still pitch-black outside. He didn't know the exact time however he knew that they were going to need as much sleep as they could get. He was unsure whether to continue the story or save it for another time.

"Joel?" Ellie's voice echoed out, her curious expression gazing towards him.

Joel gave out a small sigh underneath his breath, "Look, why don't we call it a night, we both need as much sleep as we can get."

"Wha-!? Fuck that, Joel! You can't just leave the story there!" Ellie abruptly leapt from her couch in distaste. "You know how much I hate cliff-hangers!"

"I-I know … but if I were to continue, we'll be awake till dawn." Joel sternly shook his head, stuttering at the beginning of his sentence to show his uncertainty. "The one thing we certainly do not need is to oversleep and have Bandits slit our throats, especially considering the lengths we've crossed to get here."

"Right … whatever suits you best, I guess." Ellie drew herself back, her eyes diverted away as she dropped back onto the seat.

Joel glanced towards her silently, noticing her giving off small shivers. The trauma was still completely within her system; meaning that even if they would try to sleep … her nightmares would never leave her. Switching his sight towards the subtle flame within the fireplace, Joel considered the options placed before him: attempt to get sleep and … or continue the story to calm her mind. It irritated his mind like an unreachable itch, the one thing he wanted the most was for Ellie to get a decent amount of sleep after the past restless nights.

However, in the end … he bit the bullet.

"*Sigh* … Alright, you win." Joel exhaled in slight frustration, rubbing his weary eyes and cleared his mind.

Ellie glanced up, her eyes suddenly lit up with an unexpected surprise. She shuffled up on her couch so she could pay attention to the story's continuation. Joel took a second glance towards the fireplace; he knew that the only other person that knew of this story was his brother. Even so, even Tommy didn't know the full details, only the sections where he had been involved. Joel stepped back towards his chair, sinking on the thick yet worn pillow underneath. His eyes, on the other hand, were still locked towards the dancing flames. Ellie had a curious mind, she wondered as to why Joel was hesitant to continue, considering that he had passed the seemingly 'conflict' part of the story. But from the reactions that Joel was making … There was more yet to come.

Joel began to speak, his mind full of memories from the past.

"The moment that woman screamed out, Sarah and I were completely frozen on the spot." Joel admitted to Ellie, his eyes lowered slightly as he reflected on the events.

"Why couldn't you two have just run away?" Ellie questioned curiously, her eyes full of wonder as she was fully engaged.

Joel gave out a sudden chuckle, shaking his head as he found the question amusing, "If we ran, my life would have ended then and there."

"Why would that be?" Ellie drew back on her seat slightly, becoming hesitant due to the response she had been given.

"In a society where technology dominated our lives, various circumstances would have indicated my identity before the day would even end. Running from the scene would have been a waste of time, energy, and whatever alibi I had left to defend myself."

"Oh … I see." Ellie murmured under her breath, seeming to be disappointed that there wouldn't be some sort of 'over-the-top' successful escape.

Unfortunately, as great as it would sound, Joel's story wasn't some typical action flick with an 'awesome' chase scene, far from it. This was a story about the past reality of his life, and how corruption never seemed to leave.

It was then that Ellie's mind clicked, a word spoken by Joel echoed in her head and causing her to become ever the more curious.

"What do you mean by … 'alibi'?" Ellie questioned as her eyes were locked onto Joel as though the word may have a significant relation to the story.

Joel gave a small smirk the moment the question was asked, somewhat pleased that Ellie had caught on.

"I would say that it is the most important word in relation to the situation I was in." Joel admitted lightly, glancing over to Ellie with a small grin. He then paused for a brief moment, clenching his fists up as his grin disappeared in a sudden moment.

"It was also a word that the cops never seemed to grasp …"

**22 years ago …**

"Aaaargh!" Joel roared out in agony, a surge of pain as his chest collided against a metal surface.

The young Joel squirmed as his body had been locked down against a police patrol-car bonnet by two Texan officers, refusing to let him go. One of the officers had been speaking into a transmitter on his jacket, detailing the current situation. This officer had a slim figure however was stern in personality; he had short blond hair and a constant scowl. The other officer that concentrated on holding Joel down was slightly stoic and a rough appearance, as though he refused to wash regularly.

Joel could see the growing crowd in the corner of his eye, gossiping curiously and taking out their cell-phones to video the situation. Part of Joel's mind felt humiliated, the large crowds and the force placed against him was unbearable, it did not help either that his had been thrown out from the alley into the open for all to see. However, the rest of his mind was completely engulfed in the horror of the situation, refusing to leave or settle down. He could hear the definitive gunshot repeating inside his head, and the feeling of a dead-man's blood continuously seeping into the skin of his palms was revolting. Even with all of this, there was one crucial reason his panic continued to rise.

"DAD!?" A voice screamed out in the distance within the crowd.

"S-SARAH!" Joel roared back in response, trying to lift his head up only to have it slam back against the bonnet.

"STAY DOWN!" One of the officers bellowed, seemingly convinced that he was the one with power due to his secretive smug expression.

"G-get the hell off me, you bastards!" Joel began to grit his teeth; the increasing weight pressing him down was unbearable

Joel felt like he was on the tipping point of insanity; his mind full of conflicting and convoluted thoughts and his surroundings falling apart. He had to find a way to consult with the officers so he could speak to his daughter, and both his and the cops' current actions were not helping the situation whatsoever. If he didn't reach her soon, his mind would break.

"P-please listen to me; I HAVE to speak with my daughter!" Joel cried out, hoping to get the cops attention.

"KEEP QUIET!" The same officer growled, his eyes switching between Joel and his colleague who was still in conversation with his transmitter. "We'll deal with you first; however, I can assure that the girl will be in safe hands."

"Safe … hands …?" Joel's voice echoed under his breath, almost edging over the tipping point of his self-control.

Joel's fists, currently forced behind his back, clenched the moment he heard the words 'safe hands'. From what Sarah had just been through and witnessed, she was far from being safe. The only person Joel knew that would keep her safe, other than himself, was his brother Tommy.

It was then that he heard the other officer finish his conversation on the transmitter, the force suddenly strengthening and the officer shifting towards the other. They began to discuss about their next move. Within that moment, Joel noticed a hand suddenly lift away. With as much turn as possible, he caught sight of the first officer reaching towards the back of his belt to grab a pair handcuffs. This was Joel's last chance to turn things around and keep his daughter secured.

"DAD!" Sarah's voice cried out once again, trying to get his attention even though she was engulfed in the crowd.

"I'll say this again, I MUST speak to my daughter!" Joel insisted in a load and clear tone, his whole body suddenly tensed up.

"And I'll tell you again, SHUT IT!" The first officer spat out in response, suddenly becoming more agitated.

The officer grasped the handcuffs and reached too place it around Joel's wrists, closing in to detain Joel once and for all. Joel could not allow this to happen; the fact that these officers were so reluctant to help his daughter had caused him to increasingly lose his composure. He could see the handcuffs closing towards his wrists, his heart racing as he struggled to find a solution.

"DADDY!?" Sarah screamed out in terror, pushing through the crowd as she finally caught sight of her father and vice versa.

And then … Joel's mind finally snapped.

"FUCK THIS!" Joel roared in fury, using all the strength he could muster up and he lashed out.

The sudden outburst from Joel took the officers by surprise, unable to react in time. Joel threw his body around and struck the officer holding him down square in the nose, the echoing sound of a sickening crack followed. The officer stumbled back, a hand covering his face as he roared out in agony. Instantly, Joel then took hold of the other officer and threw him against the police vehicle, the officer completely stunned. In one final movement, Joel snatched the pair of handcuffs from the oblivious first officer, who couldn't stop screaming out as blood continued to flow out of his nose, and locked them on the second officer and on the front frame of the vehicle. The officer tried to kick out but Joel had manoeuvred around in retaliation.

Taking in heavy breaths, Joel's eyes switched over towards his daughter, and finally saw the full state of her wellbeing. Her eyes and face was red and moist from crying and her body was shaking violently. Joel knew that Sarah was in a critical state of mind, and the fact that they had been forced apart by both the crowds and the cops escalated it immensely.

Joel ran towards her with no hesitation in his body or mind, crowds gazing towards him as he passed. The moment he reached her, he knelt slightly to equal her height and placed his hands on her shoulders, hoping to comfort her. The crowd around them shuffled back with caution, not wanting to be close to a 'murderer'.

"Listen to me, Sarah." Joel began swiftly, knowing he didn't have a lot of time on his hands. "I need you to-"

"Eek!" Sarah abruptly shrieked out, noticing the blood-stains on Joel's palms.

Joel hesitated as he back his hands away, noticing the blood himself. Snapping back to reality, he hid his hands by crossing his arms and continued what he was about to say.

"Look, Honey, you need to call Tommy." Joel informed her hastily, his own body beginning to shake up.

"U-Uncle Tommy?" Sarah then echoed back, wondering why. "But, wh-what about you, Dad?"

"I can't protect you right now." Joel shook his head as he answered, biting the inside of his cheek in frustration as he continued. "The only person I know who will keep you safe is Tommy, so please do as I say."

"O-ok, I w-will." Sarah nodded back, her voice becoming severely stuttered as she struggled to speak.

Joel gave her a sad smile in response; he wished none of this had happened in the first place. He knew that there would be a long battle to return to his daily life, and even then it wouldn't be the same.

Just then, Joel felt a sudden electric charge surge in his spine, coursing through his body as he roared out in abrupt agony.

"AAAAAAAARRGH!"

"D-DAD!?" Sarah screamed out in shock, watching her father helplessly.

Joel slumped to the floor, his whole body completely losing strength and close to losing consciousness. His eyes were glazed over, his surroundings severely blurred. He could just make out the figures of close bystanders; however it was impossible to depict who they were. All thoughts in his mind had been wiped away in a flash; he couldn't muster up any thought or memory as much as he tried. He was limp and silent; the only thing he could hear was the sounds of numerous voices. It was then that he heard a more distinctive voice.

"This is what you get …" The voice called out, tone rising as it became more vicious. "… When you break MY FUCKIN' NOSE!"

Immediately after, Joel felt a sudden jab collide into his abdomen, causing him to gasp in pain. A familiar scream from the crowd followed.

"NO, STOP IT!" A young girl had cried out, as Joel noticed a small blurred figure struggle on the spot.

"S-Sarah …?" Joel breathed out; however no voice could escape him.

He struggled to keep conscious and take control of his body, but the paralysis was far too overwhelming. Abruptly, he felt his body being forcefully lifted from the floor and dragged away. He didn't know what was going on; nothing was making sense to him anymore. His limp body was thrown against a solid wall; his back struck the concrete like a beaten doll, motionless. At that moment, Joel felt another solid jab collide against his jaw, just making out the shape of a knee flying towards him. Over and over again continuously, Joel had been kneed in the face with no mercy. A horrific voice echoed in his empty mind, taunting and abusing him.

"This is the great thing about Tasers …" The voice spat and chuckled, "they make assholes like you … MY BITCH!"

"NOOOO!" Sarah screamed out in the distance, showing the severe distress in her voice.

Joel noticed the knee fly towards him … only to blackout immediately after.

**3 days later …**

"So, everything you did that day was an act of self-defence?" A deep, echoing voice questioned formally.

"Anyone with common sense would see that clearly with the evidence you find." Joel answered back with honesty, his voice wheezing and cracking. "My daughter would have been through the worst of hell if I didn't act. You must understand that, detective."

The man sitting opposite Joel was a man who seemed hallway through his 50s; grey hairs forming, small bags around his eyes and his arms full of veins and dark long hairs. He had a stern appearance but seemed to have an understanding approach to his work. He wore a long, brown jacket and an office suit to show his role to whoever met him.

Joel and the detective had been sitting in an empty, sea-blue room consisting of a small table housing them from opposite ends, and a large reflective screen on the wall to Joel's left. He knew that behind the reflective screen were various other investigators and police listening in to his questioning.

"And would you say that your self-defence was the source to assault on two police officers?" The detective continued on, jotting down notes as he spoke. "It must explain your … 'facial injuries'."

Joel hesitated, switching his sight towards the reflective mirror. His appearance was damaged immensely that was directly from the beating he had taken from the officer; his black, bulged-up eyes; gashes and bruises covering him up from head to toe; nose slightly crooked' and small drops of blood seeping from parts of his visible body. He could barely see as it was, and to see his face in such condition tormented him. To add salt on the wound, he was now wearing orange prison attire, showing to others that he had cemented a low point in life. Finally, he turned back to the detective and answered his body aching every time something moved.

"My arrogance and the drama from the situation got the better of me." Joel admitted to the man, his mind concentrating on the initial crime rather that the incident involving the officers. "I wanted to keep my daughter safe even after everything that happened … and this was my punishment."

"I see." The detective nodded, soothing his check as he took everything in and thought the situation out. "Well, until we have this all figured out, you'll have to stay in the cell blocks."

"Whatever you say …" Joel nodded back, finally accepting his current fate after feeling the torment of the past 3 days in confinement. "However, what I want to know is when I can see my daughter."

"You'll see her again in due time." The detective answered back, acting as though he was placing the question to the side. "The fact that she is currently being looked after by your sibling and she is going through psychological treatment is all you need to know right now."

Abruptly, Joel struck the table in fury, losing his patience.

"THAT ANSWER IS PATHETIC!" Joel roared out, his voice booming across the room. "I'll ask you once more: WHEN can I see Sarah?"

"And I'll tell you once again, Mr Miller: In due time." The detective answered him, keeping a calm tone. "With that, I'll have the officer escort you back to your confined cell."

In that instant, an officer entered the room. His appearance caused Joel to look away in disgust, knowing who this 'officer' was. It was the same man who had beaten him senseless during his arrest. The officer had steri-strips covering the crux of his bruised nose, and he had a dark grin covering his mouth showing that this was not going to end well.

The officer grasped Joel's arm, stood him up and began dragging him away. However, before leaving the room, Joel turned back and called out to the detective.

"By the way, detective…" Joel began, feeling the officer tug on his arm forcefully. "Check the footage of the nearby security cameras. It will tell you everything."

The detective looked up towards Joel, giving out a small comment in return, "I know how to do my job, Mr Miller."

Upon reaching his cell, Joel was pushed in with immense force from the officer, stumbling and knocking his head against the solid floor. Immediately, he felt the officer kick him in the abdomen several times, unable to fight back.

"Come on, where was the feistiness from back then, huh!?" The officer laughed out, enjoying every minute of this torture. "I swear, by the time you finish whatever sentence you get in court, you'll be living corpse … and that's even IF you survive this place!"

Joel grunted painfully as every kick struck him, all he could do was lay crumpled on the floor and take the hit. Eventually, the officer had ended his beating and decided to leave without another word, locking the cell door in the process. Joel rolled his body slowly and painfully, feeling every ache as his body pushed. He used a nearby plastic chair to help him as he began to stand back up. Upon rising, he began to wheeze.

The cell was the bog-standard any inmate would have; a plain room with a rock-solid surface for a bed, a broken toilet and a sink. It was disgusting in every sense of the word, but it was all Joel had in his current position.

The moment there was silence in the room. He began to scratch his hands vigorously, a habit he has had since his arrest. His mental state had caused him to imagine that the blood from the man he had shot was still stained on his hands, refusing to wash away. His scratching increased, causing cuts and gashes and leaving light scars. He began to sweat and panic as the blood clouded his mind, engulfing his thoughts.

Suddenly, he stopped, snapping back into reality. He took in various deep breaths as he cleared his mind. This was hell for him, having sudden panic attacks and emotionally insecure. The idea of staying in this hellhole would ruin him, losing all connections from the outside world … including Sarah. He felt the fear inside him, growing slowly but surely. He needed to get out of here and fast.

Joel sat on the plastic chair that stood beside him and slouched back, feeling as though his life was slowly leaving him. He then buried his head within his scarred-up hands and let out all the fury and agony he had felt with one powerful roar.

"GGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" He bellowed out, hiding his tears of frustration and sorrow.

**5 hours later …**

Joel had been lying silently on his cell bed, his mind in the clouds and the idea of reality disappearing into the abyss. A small, barred widow gave in a small amount of light in his cell, although it was fading to an evening glow. There was nothing to do, no distractions or ways to gain entertainment.

That had been until a knock on the door of the cell, causing Joel to abruptly jump by surprise. Without Joel being able to respond to the knock, the door began to open immediately, the sound of the lock clicking instantly. Upon the stranger's entry, Joel gave a confused expression, unable to understand the purpose of this figure entering the cell.

This person was in fact a tall, slim woman who wore a very sophisticated black suit and skirt. She had a very formal stance and a powerful aura about her, as though in any scenario, she would be then one in control. She had a young face and golden-blond, shoulder-length hair that had been very well-kept. Her gaze was directed intensely towards Joel, her eyes illuminated with a green iris.

Joel rose up cautiously, not knowing how to approach the woman. Why was she here? What was her purpose? … Why was she looking at him with such intensity?

"It is nice to meet you, Joel." She greeted him formally, her sight locked on and refusing to divert off Joel.

"Who are you?" Joel blurted out, no sense of manners in his mind.

"A legitimate question …" The woman murmured, a small chuckle leaving. "I am a close friend of your brother, Tommy. He had told me all about your situation and I decided to head over and meet you myself."

"Is that so …?" Joel commented back with a low tone of voice, wary about this for some reason. "And why are you here? What was the point of meeting me?"

"It's rather simple, is it not?" The woman grinned towards him as though she found Joel's questions amusing.

However, her expression suddenly snapped to a serious glare, "I'm the one who is going to save your life."


End file.
